Happy Thanksgiving Homemade Pumpkin Butter

This weekend is our Canadian Thanksgiving, which seems strange to me after the weekend madness, but I am just happy that I am not the one preparing the entire meal this time. ;)

I have been thinking of something that I could bring for my in-laws that would make a fun Thanksgiving hostess gift. I didn’t feel like bringing cookies, pie, or something of that nature, so I put my thinking cap on and surfed the web for ideas.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks pumpkins.

Happy Thanksgiving Homemade Pumpkin Butter

This was super easy to make and quite delicious. I doubled the batch below so I could have some to enjoy myself. This will be fantastic spread onto pancakes, toast, or even layered with Vegan Overnight Oats! The possibilities are endless, and I plan to find them all. ;) Note that I reduced the sugar by 1/3 of a cup as I didn’t want it super sweet. You can adjust the sugar and seasonings to your own taste of course.

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil, covered with lid ajar (I prop it with a wooden spoon). Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer, covered with lid ajar, for 35-45 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful as the mixture bubbles and pops!

2. Remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes before removing lid. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Makes enough to fill one large mason jar or about 3.5 cups.

So to finish my comment… that punkin butter looks delicious, please save me some ;)
Actually, I should probably make my own because I would love to give some out to my hostess/family this thanksgiving! Awesome idea!

Im not certain but Smitten Kitchen offers a way to preserve it on her original post that I linked to. :)

“To preserve: Spoon hot pumpkin mixture into hot jars, filling to within 1/4 inch from top. Remove air bubbles; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.”

Another way to can them is just put the pumpkin in really hot put the lid on and cover with a towel and they will seal themselves that’s how we do it at home. Sometimes a couple won’t seal but we just take it off and try again or just throw those in the fridge to use first

This method of canning is extremely dangerous! I have been judging canned goods at county fairs for 16 years and I am only telling you this out of concern. Please, please do not use this method to can anything! The chance of making a person sick is much higher! As a side note, pumpkin butter is not considered a safe product to “can”. It is safe in the refrigerator or freezer. As a side note, responding to a previous comment, changing the amount of sugar, spices, or acid (lemon juice for example) in any recipe that you will be “canning” (hot water bath or pressure canner) is not a safe practice. The sugar content as well as the acidity of the product is measured precisely in recipes and changing that could end up making a person sick.

Lovely gift!! I will have to make pumpkin puree (no canned pumpkin in Germany, no Sir :-( ) and just give it out to people – as we don’t have Thanksgiving here I’ll be celebrating my own little feast! :-)

Oh, and I bet it would also work with the recipe stuck to the bottom – then your lid would be all shiny and beautiful! ;-)

I almost bought some pumpkin butter in Ohio and then I declared “I’ll make it myself!” I’ve been wanting to make this forever but have been to intimidated…so thank you!!! Have a wonderful thanksgiving!

I love giving gifts in jars — and this pumpkin butter looks delicious!

I hate giving STUFF to people for gifts (unless there is something they asked for) — only because we all have so much stuff that I like to give things people can use up: food, alcohol (!), concert tickets or cash!

Thanks for the recipe. I purchased some pumpkin butter this Sunday, and it was cloyingly sweet (more so than another brand I purchased last year). As is typical for me, I immediately thought, “I could make this better from scratch.” Behold: your perfectly time post. It made me smile. And it made me hungry, too!

I have been making homemade pumpkin butter for years, using a very similar recipe. If you want to go all out, you can make it with real pumpkin, either roasted (which is the best, but takes a lot more time) or boiled. i’ve even used the cheap carving pumpkins. It has such great flavor! I make HUGE batches and freeze them.

Love, love, LOVE this idea — I’ve made rhubarb butter and never even thought of pumpkin butter. I will probably just use an apple (put in my vitamix with some pumpkin) and then transfer to a pan to cook with the spices. Great idea for a hostess gift, or even teacher gifts! Thanks (our Thanksgiving in US isn’t until November, so I still have some time).

What an awesome hostess gift! My boyfriend’s parents are always feeding me, so I was hoping to make them some homemade goodies as a thank-you basket @ Thanksgiving…this will definitely be going in there! What did you serve it on? I’m thinking toast or maybe crackers?

This looks great Angela! I tried pumpkin butter for the first time last year and loved it, but haven’t been able to find a vegan one since then (they all seem to contain honey). I guess I’ll just have to make my own!

cloves are a LOVE of mine..I mean, I adore the way they smell! I can only imagine how amazing your house smelled after the pumpkin + sugar + cloves mixture was brewing…WOW. Delish!! And you’re so right this would knock the socks off anyone and would make a STELLAR hostess gift.

The only thing I wonder about is the lemon juice? I love things pretty sweet so I think I would take it easy on the lemon juice I think….but I should probably just trust your recipe and do as you say and use half a lemon’s juice, huh :)

Please be sure your readers know that home canning of pumpkin butter is NOT considered safe. See http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/pumpkin_butter.html Pumpkin is low acid, and therefore can support the growth of botulism. Instead, homemade pumpkin butter should always be refrigerated or frozen.

Just FYI: it grows Clostridium botulinum, NOT botulism. Botulism is the disease, Clostridium is the bacteria. If you’re going to inform people do so knowledgeably. And just about anything can grow bacteria if left unrefrigerated.

This looks like an excellent gift to make for myself :-)
I make mine with orange juice (recipe on my blog ‘kabocha jam) but I must try apple juice.
Have you tried making it using kabocha squash? Amazing.

This is so exciting and makes me eager for our Thanksgiving festivities next month. I have already been trying to plan out what special gift I can bring to my family this year, now that I am newly married and this looks like the perfect idea. Thanks so much for sharing! All of your recipes look delicious and make me want to run to my kitchen and bake my way through your blog.

My name is Amanda Factor, and I am the online editor of Bunchland.com. I’d love to include this recipe in today’s newsletter and on our website, as we want to give our audience some pumpkin recipes. Please let me know if I can use this recipe and maybe some of your photos (credited, of course, with a link to your site). Thanks so much.

Umm..I just made this and had to practice SERIOUS SELF CONTROL in order to not eat the entire batch out of the pot….wow…better than pie! I was supposed to make pasta for dinner but that’s been kiboshed…oats and pumpkin butter for dinner whee!!!

I’m starting to think you post too much. I check my blog list multiple times a day and yet I somehow missed this post! I came here through a blog that I got to through another blog and I am so glad I did. I was just contemplating making pumpkin butter. By the way, just a little FYI, you rule in the kitchen! Can I come work for you? I’d work for pumpkin butter…

I just wanted to let you know how much I love and use this recipe! I love it with yogurt, granola, and a little maple syrup! I bake with it as an oil replacement, I’ve given it as gifts to my gluten-free vegan organic foodie friends (like me! I’d love a gift of something delicious and homemade that I could eat and I didn’t have to make myself!

Found your recipe on pinterest. I just made it and it’s cooling now. It’s delicious!!! I’m afraid there won’t be any left to put in the jar because hubby and I keep tasting it. Thanks for the great recipe!

Thank You for the recipe. This is the perfect time of the year for this pumpkin butter. Every year I make pumpkin bread and freeze it to eat all year. And I give alot of it away as presents too for the holidays. So this will be something else I can try. It’s quite comical every year right after Holloween. All the punpkins get throwed out on the curb for the trash man but I always try to beat him to them. Last year one family threw out six lg. pumpkins. I was in pumpkin heaven. I took them all home and baked them done and pureed the meat in my processor and then put them in freezer bags. So when I want to make fresh pumpkin bread I just pull out a freezer bag full of pureed pumpkin and get to baking. So Happy baking and cooking girls.

I just want to thank you for adding the amount of fresh pumpkin that you need if you want to use it instead of canned. So many recipes don’t do that. Also for the warning not to can it as written. Great info, can’t wait to try it.

Just made my first pumpkin butter, thanks for the recipe. Mine turned out quite lumpy cause of the type of pumpkin I used to I attacked it with a hand blender! I’ve never had pumpkin butter so don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like but I may be in love. Mixed some into pancake batter (non-vegan, sorry!) and they turned out great!

Oh my this is a fantastic recipe. I use this on oatmeal, over yogurt, make pumpkin spice lattes with it and even in homemade granola bars and smoothies. I keep it in the smaller mason jars and freeze them. They thaw perfectly in the fridge and I always have a supply on hand!

Thank you for posting this!!!! i fell in love with pumpkin butter last year…but refuse to pay the 8.00 i paid for a small jar!
this was so easy to put together..i dont have clove so i just omited the nutmeg and used pumpkin pie spice in place of those two. and added a little extra brown sugar..
it made waaaaay more than i had expected it too!! it was nice and thick too!! will for sure be making this again!

I just made this, and while it is absolutely delicious, mine looks nothing like yours!! It is VERY dark and not thick and creamy like yours! I know it didn’t burn and I even tried to cook it a little longer with the lid off in hopes it would thicken up but it didn’t. Not sure what I did wrong but even if it’s not as pretty as yours it’s still very yummy!!!

This looks yummy ! I live a couple states away from my family and wanted to contribute to their thanksgiving feast in some cute way and this is perfect ! But I have some questions . . Does it need to be refrigerated or is it safe to over night ship ? What do you put pumpkin butter on ? Bread , crackers ?? Thanks much !

Hi! I just made this pumpkin butter. It is so amazing! I could barley get it into the jars without eating it!
I have been reading your blog for about a month now. I found it on accident but it was truly a blessing. I have been suffering from disordered eating. I try to stay in control of my eating but I end up going back to old eating habits. You have given me inspiration and motivation to kick this ED in the butt! I read your story and I’m so proud of you! You are a true, real life role model for lots of people. Thank you so much!

Just finished making the pumpkin butter. Used only half the brown sugar. I find the sweetness of the apple juice and 1/2 cup of brown sugar is perfect for us. Thank you so much for this recipe. As soon as it cools I will place in smaller jars with your beautiful idea of attaching a pumpkin tab and give it to my daughters for thanksgiving.

I’m excited to try this recipe! I’ve tried others, but I this one looks quite good. :-) For those wondering you absolutely can use a crockpot. Five hours on low, stirring several times. My crockpot runs hot so doesn’t take that long. You want the butter thick enough to stick to a spoon upside down. It freezes nicely, use within six months. So happy to find this blog!!!